Weathers worked as a reliever that September, pitching seven innings in seven games and allowing one run. In the postseason, he pitched 11 more innings in seven games, again giving up one run.

It’s an example of a pitcher going from the rotation to the bullpen during the season to help a team win a championship, a model Phil Hughes is trying to follow now. General manager Brian Cashman, however, said the Yankees didn’t look at past examples of such behavior and try to pattern Hughes after them.

“We have not,” Cashman said. “He basically wound up in the bullpen out of necessity, and based on performance mandated keeping him there at this point. For now.”

Hughes’ path is similar to Weathers’, but obviously Joba Chamberlain’s in 2007. That year, the Yankees had the Joba Rules — restrictions on his usage when it came to number of pitches, days’ rest, and so forth, for Chamberlain, who started 2007 as a starter in the minors.

Do the Yankees have similar restrictions for Hughes now? Is there a set of Hughes Rules?

“I would not say,” Cashman said.

So far, though, there are similarities. In 2007, Chamberlain pitched back-to-back days just once, on Sept. 26-27, his 17th and 18th games in the majors. Hughes did not go back-to-back this season until he pitched on July 3 (15 pitches) and July 4 (eight) — his ninth and 10th relief outings this year — and again on Wednesday (13 pitches) and Thursday (19).

It remains to be seen whether Hughes would ever be allowed to pitch three straight days, or whether he ever would be permitted to, for example, throw 25-30 pitches one day and pitch the day after.